Contents 1 Welcome and Thank You! 2 Software installation 2.1 Required Software 2.2 Installing internal (virtual) MIDI Ports for MIDIBridge 2.3 Recommended 3rd Party Software 2.4 Upgrading from previous software versions 3 Getting to know the cubes 4 The cubes as a MIDI controller 4.1 Setting a colour 4.2 Setting mode 4.3 Using the cubes together 4.4 Trying one of the demos 5 Using the cubes with Ableton Live 5.1 Sending MIDI to Live 5.2 Configuring Live to receive MIDI 5.
Installing internal (virtual) MIDI Ports for MIDIBridge MIDIBridge requires 1 or more "Internal MIDI Ports". These internal MIDI ports will enable routing MIDI from MIDIBridge to third-party applications such as Ableton Live, Logic, Cubase, ... Here's how to create one or more internal MIDI ports: PC (Windows) If you don't already have a MIDI Loopback Cable installed (such as Hubi's MIDI Loopback or Maple MIDI), just install LoopBe1 and follow the instructions.
) Double-click on the big red icon "IAC Driver". A new window called "IAC Driver Properties" will open. 5) Activate "Device is online" checkbox, if it is not already active. 6) Choose "More Information". 7) In IAC Driver Properties, click on "Ports" in the middle (next to "Properties"). 8) Click 4x button "Add Port". 4 IAC MIDI ports called "IAC Bus 1", "IAC Bus 2", "IAC Bus 3", "IAC Bus 4" will appear.
Recommended 3rd Party Software For this tutorial you will need software that can create sound when it receives MIDI messages. We will show how to use the cubes with Ableton Live and Propellerheads Reason, two different applications for creating and recording music. If you received AudioCubes software on a CD or DVD, demo versions of the software is included If you downloaded AudioCubes software you can download a Live demo from http://www.ableton.com/ and a Reason demo from http://www.propellerheads.
The cubes as a MIDI controller One of the easiest ways to start using the cubes is as a computer interface for existing electronic musical instruments or software. This lets you get a first experience in a familiar environment and quickly understand the potential of the AudioCubes. One of the applications installed on your computer in the AudioCubes folder is called the MIDI Bridge.
At the left of the window you can choose a colour for the cube you just connected : Drag the black circle around over the colours and watch the cube change colour as you move the mouse. Setting mode Setting a cube mode is done through the panel located right under the colour panel : You can tell the cube to work in any of three modes : Sender In this mode the cube sends information about itself wirelessly to other cubes nearby.
Using the cubes together Move the Sender cube right next to the Receiver cube which is still connected to your computer and within about 10cm (4 inches). Make the faces of the cubes align. Notice how the face number changes and how one of the note triggers flashes when the Receiver detects the Sender : Rotate the Sender cube 90 degrees and notice how the face number changes again, and how a different MIDI note is selected. Each time the cube is rotated it generates a different MIDI note.
Now that the cubes are generating MIDI notes, you can choose to continue this tutorial in Ableton Live or in Propellerheads Reason. You can skip to the chapter below for the demo you prefer. Using the cubes with Ableton Live Sending MIDI to Live When the MIDI Bridge was started, no MIDI output port is selected. If you want to send the events created by the cubes to Ableton Live, you need to use a MIDI Loopback. This is a virtual “pipe” between two MIDI compatible programs running on your computer (e.g.
Loading and playing the example Live set On Mac, go to the AudioCubes folder in Applications on your computer, and click on the sounds folder to open it. On PC, go to Start > Programs > Percussa > AudioCubes and click on the sounds folder to open it. Go into the Live demo folder and double click the file to open it in Ableton Live. If this is the first time Live starts, it will need to install its sound library, which might take a few moments. This is normal.
This represents a change in intensity in time of the red light source inside the connected cube. Notice the controller number on the left side of the editing window (14) : The cubes use three light sources internally. One light is red, one is green and the last one is blue. Mixing those 3 fundamental colours in various intensities creates many combinations (up to 4096). Controller number 14 is used for Red, 15 for Green and 16 for Blue.
Next, go to the MIDI Bridge, and on the left side of the window, select the same MIDI port as you just selected in Live : When you now click “Receive from MIDI In”, you will notice that the cube will fade from dark red to bright red, according to the MIDI clip in Ableton Live. Notice how the number displays under the colour picker (CC 14 / 15 / 16) will start changing.
Click on the “Sensor” button to switch the cube into sensor mode. Next, go to the panel in the middle where the cube is shown and the status of its faces. Let's choose one of the faces to change a parameter of a sound effect in Ableton Live. For example, the face on the right (Controller number 12) : Move your fingers closer and further away of the sensor on the right side of the cube. This is face 3 in the following drawing : Before using the cube, you will have to calibrate its faces.
Now move your finger in front of one of the cube's faces. Notice how MIDIBridge shows the sensor value. Almost certainly, the sensor value will not reach the top in the display. This means that the sensor range is not yet optimal. To make it better, adjust the gain slider on the top until the range is good. Next, go back to Ableton Live and click on the Master channel in the Live set we opened earlier.
This effect will filter out certain frequencies of the sound while we are playing it back. Let's say we want to change the frequency above which the sound is attenuated (lowered in volume), called the cutoff frequency. In the example Live set, the cutoff frequency has already been assigned to the distance measured by the sensor on the right side of the cube, such that we don't need to do this manually.
Settings/All Users/Application Data/Propellerhead Software/Remote If you are on Mac, go to the AudioCubes folder in Applications, and into the subfolder codecs. You will find an icon similar to the following: Double-click the icon and the installation wizard will start. Follow the instructions to install the codec on the same volume on your computer on which you installed Reason 4 (in most cases your startup disk).
Click on the Manufacturer drop down menu and select Percussa. From the Model drop down menu, select CubeControl. Next, go to the In and Out drop down menus at the bottom, and choose the IAC Driver IAC Bus 1 (Mac) or LoopBe1 Internal MIDI (PC) port for the In and Out port. Click the OK button to add the Cube. After adding the cube, note the message "This is the master keyboard". You can turn this off by clicking the button "Use No Master Keyboard".
If you don't turn this off, the cube triggers will be sent as notes to the Reason devices, which is not what we'd like to do for this tutorial. Loading the demo song On PC, go to the AudioCubes folder in Start > Program Files > Percussa > AudioCubes. On Mac, go to the AudioCubes folder in Applications. For both platforms, browse the sounds folder and load the Reason 4 demo song, which uses the codec.
When you first load the song, you will notice there is a Redrum drum machine in the Reason rack. If you can't see it, you can scroll through the rack using the vertical scroll bar. To play the song and start the pattern sequencers in the Reason rack, press the SPACE BAR on your keyboard. To stop playing, press the SPACE BAR again. When you want to try playing with the cubes and Reason in this demo and want to hear the effect of what you're doing, it is necessary to keep Reason playing.
One face corresponds to patterns 1-4, another to 5-8 and a third face to banks A-D. See the diagram below which summarizes this default assignment to select patterns using a cube sender/receiver pair. Selecting banks A-D Selecting patterns 1-4 Selecting patterns 5-8 If you go back to the sequencer window and select the bass matrix step sequencer, you can repeat the same pattern selection as with the Redrum.
Pay attention to the pattern keypad on the matrix sequencer. Notice how the pattern selection changes when you rotate the sender cube when it is next to the receiver cube. Selecting tracks Besides selecting patterns on Reason devices, the cubes can be used to select tracks in the Reason sequencer. In the example song you just loaded, one of the faces of the receiver cube has been pre-assigned to select tracks.
Moving selection (and device focus) a track down Moving selection (and device focus) a track up Controling synthesizers with cube sensors Apart from using the cube connected to your computer to detect other cubes which are wireless, you can also let the cube measure the distance to other objects, such as your hands, or other cubes, and use that to apply effects to the sound.
Move your fingers closer and further away of the sensor on the right side of the cube. This is Face 3 in the following drawing : Before using face 3, you will have to calibrate it. This is an easy and fast process. To do so, move the cube away from any surrounding objects (including your hands) and press the button "Calibrate" (bottom right). Now move your finger in front of face 3. Notice how MIDIBridge shows the sensor value.
Almost certainly, the sensor value will not reach the top in the display. This means that the sensor range is not yet optimal. To make it better, adjust the gain slider on the top until the range is good. Next, repeat the sensor calibration procedure (without the need to press "Calibrate" again) above for the face of the cube which has the USB connector.
Next, touch face 4 with one finger, keep the finger there, and then touch face 3 with another finger, slowly moving this finger closer to the face and further away from the face while you keep your finger on the sensor of face 4. Notice how the pitch bend wheel of the subtractor synth moves as you move your face 3 finger. As an excercise, keep your face 3 finger steady, and then release your face 4 finger and notice how the pitch bend wheel stays constant and no longer moves.
instructions for charging the batteries over USB. Please take the time to read this manual in-depth to make sure you do not void the warranty on the AudioCubes. The Percussa website is a great source for information about the cubes. Be sure to register with your email address to receive the latest updates about the software, free sound packs, tutorials, news about artists using the cubes, and participate in our user's forum.
